<h2 class="entry-title">No Epiphany Yet, but Gholston Shows Progress</h2> By Gregory Bishop FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – While the Jets players spent Tuesday nursing their bumps and bruises, Coach Eric Mangini spent the day at the team offices, where he bumped into JoJo Wooden.

Wooden, the Jets assistant director of player personnel, talked with Mangini about his own playing career at Syracuse. Wooden told Mangini that he remembered the exact moment during his red shirt freshman season when everything just clicked.

The coach used the story as a way to illustrate the progress of first-round draft pick Vernon Gholston, the rookie linebacker the Jets selected sixth overall last spring.

“Everybody has that moment where the clouds kind of drift away, the sun comes out, and you can just start playing,” Mangini said.

The coach didn’t say that Gholston has experienced that sort of epiphany on the pros. Gholston has compiled 11 tackles this season, far fewer than the number fans expected back in April. But Mangini sees positive signs where others may not. “He’s made a lot of progress,” Mangini said. “He’s played most consistently on special teams, and he’s improved the most in that area. Defensively, it’s still a work in progress.”

Mangini said Gholston’s performance on defense last week against Tennessee was his best this season.

“He didn’t get an overwhelming amount of opportunities, but the opportunities he did get, I thought he did a good job with,” Mangini said.

Gholston missed most of the Jets mini-camps this off-season while finishing the semester, per N.C.A.A. rules, at Ohio State. He also switched positions, moving from a college defensive end to outside linebacker in the Jets’ 3-4 defensive scheme.

Mangini saod that he set no expectations for Gholston’s progress. He listed other linebackers who took time to develop, among them Willie McGinest, Roosevelt Colvin and Tedy Bruschi, three players who spent time with Mangini’s former team, the New England Patriots.

The biggest difference for Gholston, Mangini said, is that the Jets game plan for each opponent individually. Other teams run the same plays, make the same calls, but the Jets change those from week-to-week.

I think Gholston was the only negative thing coming out of the Titans game. He looked slow & lethargic and even got knocked on his ass once in an embarrassing display of being outclassed & outplayed. I'm in no way giving up on him yet, but so far he's showed me absolutely nothing. I wouldn't even mind if he had no tackles as long as he displayed some sort of non-stop motor out there. but so far... Not looking good.

This reminds me of a story my mate (nickname Einstein) told me about the time he was mountaineering in the Himalayas and him and another guy got caught up in an avalanche. Apparently my mate managed to out run the avalanche (which can travel up to 80mph) but unfortunately the other guy didn't make it.

I obviously challenged him about the validity of this story but he countered by saying he didn't know how it happened but everything just CLICKED and he just managed to put one leg in front of the other Usain Bolt style and legged it fast as f*** down that slope.

I wonder if this is the same kind of CLICKED that Wooden is refering to in his story to Mangini?

Well, I know people are worried being he is the sixth overall pick, but I would try not to worry just yet. Mainly because Bryan Thomas and Pace are playing well, and the team is winning. But don't forget, Thomas and Pace are late bloomers as well. They, as everyone should know, were drafted as ends, and didn't really play good until they transitioned into the 3-4 OLB role. Gholston played end, and this is his first year ever as an OLB. He never had to do anything else but bull rush in college. Hopefully that one QB pressure against Tennessee gives him some confidence or something and he emerges as a pass rush threat.